AKPBS Nominated for 2012 Zayed Energy Prize

BACIP targets the entire energy consumption of households in order to improve the quality of life while reducing CO2. Its products include smoke-free stoves outfitted with water warming accessories, roof-hatch windows that conserve heat and low-cost insulation made with local materials.Abu Dhabi, UAE, 12 January 2012 – The Aga Khan Planning and Building Services’ (AKPBS) Building and Construction Improvement Programme (BACIP) is one the finalists of the 2012 Zayed Future Energy Prize. The prize, which will be announced later this month, recognizes and rewards outstanding work in renewable energy and sustainability. A prize of US$ 1.5 million will be awarded to the winner.

BACIP focuses on eight thermally efficient appliances and technologies that help people in poor and remote areas improve the quality of their lives while saving 100,000 tons of CO2 annually. The programme has produced over 50,000 fuel-efficient products, which have been installed in 27,000 households. The programme has benefitted 240,000 people in over 300 villages of the Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral provinces in northern Pakistan.

The products not only cut energy costs, they also reduce deforestation and the time for fuel wood gathering, which in turn reduces the workloads of women and children while allowing them to generate more disposable household income. BACIP’s products include smoke-free stoves with water warming accessories that circulate warmed water to a plastic cistern, roof-hatch windows that conserve heat and insulation made with local materials. BACIP is the only programme in Pakistan that goes beyond stoves to target the entire energy consumption of households while addressing quality of life issues such as respiratory ailments caused by indoor smoke. Other agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network work on related issues, including reforestation, rangeland rehabilitation, sanitation, health and water management.

The seven finalists in the SME and NGO category were selected from among 1,103 nominations and 425 submissions. The submitted projects are located in 71 countries around the world.

The Zayed Future Energy Prize is named after the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates. The master jury includes HE Mohammed Nasheed, President of the Republic of the Maldives; HE Olafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland; HE Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of Masdar; Elizabeth Dipuo Peters, Minister of Energy for South Africa; Hon. Timothy Wirth, President of the UN Foundation and Better World Fund; Dr. Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar-award winning actor and environmental activist; Andre Agassi, Founder of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and Grand Slam Tennis Champion; and Hon. Cherie Blair, Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation.

Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance

Microfinance for Women in Northern Pakistan

Since its establishment in 2005, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) has taken over 25 years of microfinance activities, programmes and banks that were administered by sister agencies within the AKDN. The underlying objectives of the Agency are to reduce poverty, diminish the vulnerability of poor populations and alleviate economic and social exclusion. more